The Innergie mCube Slim 95 is a “universal adapter”, that is a power supply for use with portables and the like that comes with a variety of connectors so it doesn’t matter if your laptop is a Dell or an Acer, a Samsung or a Toshiba, or one of 10 other big brands (but not newer Mac portables). At the same time as recharging a laptop it can also recharge USB devices through its one USB socket.

That makes it suitable for two different markets. First, there is the conference organiser type person, who thanks to the mCube universal adapter can be ready and prepared for whatever portable device, and however low battery levels, a speaker turns up with. Pick the right connector and bingo, you have a power source they can use. For this market the extra USB port is a little superfluous, nice but not essential.

The risk of losing one or more of the nine different connectors will also be high, and it’s a shame that there is simply a bag to hold them rather than some sort of clip rack which would make it easy to spot if you do not have all nine and one has gone astray somewhere needing your rescuing. That’s one design trick missed. Another is the information on which connector works with which laptop make. The information is on the packaging and in the instructions leaflet inside. What it isn’t is on the device itself – where it would be far more useful.

The other market is for the traveller. For them the ability to power their laptop and, say, phone through the one device is attractive. Less cables and less weight to carry round, especially as the Innergie mCube Slim 95 lives up to its penultimate word. It is slim – and light, along with cables that have neat velcro ties to help keep them tidy.

The mCube is sufficiently small and light that bests the standard power suppliers shipped with most laptops so even if you travel without other gadgets, it is a good choice if you want to keep bulk and weight down.

For the traveller the issues with the connectors (see above) matter less and you’ll usually only have one that you use, the one for your particular laptop. However, for this market there is also a missed trick – having only one USB connector. Two would be far better, covering both phone and one other gadget.

Overall, then, it has in its favour being small, light, rugged (in my experience so far with my review copy) and fairly convenient. It’s a shame that for both the different markets a few tricks have been missed, leaving it not quite as good as it would have been if Innergie had looked hard at their product with the same sort of skill and attention to detail which Apple usually demonstrates.